Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the Premier League game against Southampton, breaking Alan Shearer’s record of goals scored in a year which he scored for Blackburn Rovers in 1995 and also surpassed Lionel Messi’s tally for the year.

footballUpdated: Dec 26, 2017 19:25 IST

Omnisport Omnisport

Harry Kane notched up his 38th goal in the Premier League as he surpassed Lionel Messi for most goals for club and country in 2017.(Action Images via Reuters)

Tottenham striker Harry Kane broke the record for goals scored in the Premier League in a calendar year with his effort against Southampton.

The 24-year-old took his tally for 2017 to 36 with his hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday, drawing level with the record set by Alan Shearer for Blackburn Rovers in 1995.

And Kane’s close-range header after 22 minutes against the Saints on Boxing Day saw him surpass the tally set by the Rovers, Newcastle United and England great to claim a personal slice of Premier League history.

Kane’s hat-trick helped him surpass Lionel Messi as Europe’s top scorer since January, with 55 goals for club and country.

The England international’s 37th goal came in only his 36th top-flight appearance in 2017, giving him a better goal-per-game ratio than Shearer managed 22 years ago, when he scored 36 in 42 matches.

In fact, it is the best record for the player with the most number of goals in a year since Luis Suarez scored 29 in 28 games for Liverpool in 2013.

Kane, who was the leading marksman in 2015 with 27 goals in 38 games, is also the first English player to end a calendar year as the top scorer in the Premier League since Wayne Rooney in 2009.